80% of Global CEOs Concerned with Uncertain Economic Growth

The survey results, based on interviews with 1,258 CEOs, were released at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos.

Unsurprisingly, the biggest decline in confidence was in Western Europe.

Beset by the sovereign debt crisis, just over a quarter of European CEOs said they were very confident of revenue growth, down sharply from nearly 40% last year.

Despite this, more than half of CEOs worldwide expect to increase headcount in the next 12 months, although the picture changes from sector to sector with hiring much more likely in entertainment and media than elsewhere.